How to Make the Most of Your Free Time at USC!

Hey everyone! Hope the fall semester is treating you well! 🙂 We are in the midst of midterm season, so finding free time is difficult. But for me, the main thing that gets me through a particularly difficult week is the prospect of having some fun during the weekends with my friends! So, for your future reference, here are some of my favorite things to do around Los Angeles (most of which are easily accessible through Metro or Uber)!

1.Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach

The first thing most people think about when they think Southern California is the beach! Can’t blame them, we’ve got some pretty sweet beaches that aren’t too far from USC! My go-to beaches are Santa Monica and Venice Beach, since they’re very easy to get to and very popular! At Santa Monica, it’s fun to chill on the beach, check out the pier, and maybe do a little shopping at Third Street Promenade, which is just a short walk away! Venice Beach’s Boardwalk is also something you don’t want to miss! There are cool vendors everywhere, and it’s definitely something you want to experience if you’ve never been to Venice Beach before!

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2.LACMA and the Grove

Another very touristy thing I love to do when I get the chance is go to the Grove! I also added LACMA into this point, because it’s just a short walk away! LACMA is an awesome museum with more than 150000 works of art! If you love art museums, or if you want to get your photo op with the lamp posts, this is a must! One cool point to note is that every year LACMA has College Nights, where students get to go for free! After LACMA, it can’t hurt to pop on over to the Grove for some yummy food and shopping!

Taking cute pictures with the LACMA lamp posts!

3.Hiking to Griffith Observatory/Hollywood Sign

If you’re looking to avoid the Freshman 15 (or undo it!), one of my favorite activities is hiking to Griffith Observatory and/or the Hollywood Sign! It’s a decent hike, and it’s even more fun if you bring a bunch of your friends with you! The view is gorgeous and is 100% worth the physical activity! 🙂

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4.LA Live

If I’m looking to stay close to campus, I’ll usually head on over to LA Live with some friends for dinner or a movie! LA Live is just 5 minutes away from campus through the Metro, and it’s always a fun experience. It’s always super lively! Of course, I highly recommend that you attend a show at the Staples Center (which is situated in LA Live), as it is an experience you will never forget! I know it’s one of my favorite parts about the social scene at USC!

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5.And last, but certainly not least, FOOD!

I like food. A lot. So, I love the fact that I live so close to such an amazing food scene. In Downtown LA, there are trendy cafes like Urth Caffe and Cafe Gratitude, or if you’re in the mood for Asian, there’s Little Tokyo and Koreatown! There such a huge variety of restaurants around that I’m still working on my bucket list of restaurants! In fact, there are so many delicious place within WALKING distance of campus, there’s no shortage of new places! Maybe I’ll keep you all updated on how that’s going 🙂

Enjoying some CREAM with friends: perfect way to celebrate finishing midterms!

Hopefully you found that list helpful, in case you need some ideas for when you’re done with your homework and just itching to explore Los Angeles! Until next time, Fight On!